I'm looking for a for a good quality, decently priced, and easy to use knife for everyday carry.

I'm a young female, living in the less desirable part of Baltimore MD. I'm at the bus stop most mornings before dawn for work, and I've had a lot of close calls and bad experiences. Moving isn't an option, getting a new job isn't an option, and getting a car isn't an option. I'm very alert at all times, but I still fear someone sneaking up on me, or getting ganged up on. If I went home or ran away every time a group of blacks came by I'd never get to work. I do carry pepper spray, but I want something else for back up.

I currently have a folding knife, with a 4 inch blade, it's pretty crap quality and I fear that in a bad situation I wouldn't be able to get to it and get it open in time. I need something that is; easy to get to and use, has a good grip or other means to keep it in my hand, is a good price (the lower the better, I work for minimum wage), is easy to conceal if not legal (I'm not worried about the legalities, if it's going to save my life, it's fair game), and obviously, will cut a guy up good.

What suggestions does everyone have?

Once you make a descision on a knife, please perhaps also consider a basic self-defense course. RAD - Rape Agression Defense will give you a good working set of basics without a ton of time invested.

Should you want to invest more in your personal safety, a martial art that helps negate the size and strength of the opponent might appeal to you.

Judo or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are great arts for women.

I'm man enough to admit that I've walked away a bit sore from Judo randoori (sparring) where I've been thrown and/or submitted by a lady weighing 40 lbs less than myself

If you're looking for something to protect yourself with I'd stay away from knives except as a last ditch weapon. Using a knife generally requires alot of aggression and/or some training to use it correctly. For most woman I'd suggest a handgun and a CHL permit, you might be suprised to know that Maryland is a 'Shall Issue' State (meaning that if your record is okay then they HAVE TO issue you a permit, plus the course will give you the opportunity to become good with it).

For a woman defending yourself with a gun is far easier and it has a much greater chance for sucess than trying to do the same thing with a knife. With a knife the person defending themselves must be very active and somewhat brutal in order to gain the upper hand. When using a pistol or a revolver to defend themselves against an attacker all they need to do is clear the hangun from the purse or side, aim and fire.

Plus since women are very likely to be attacked by a man (who is usually larger and who usually has much more upper body strength than most women, women actually gain more security wise and the statistics go way up for their chances of surviving the violent encounter unharmed just so long as they've been trained and willing to use it if neccessary). I'm not suggesting that you skip the knife and pepper spray altogether, just that having a gun would benefit you alot more and give you a much better chance of surviving the violent encounter intact.

Assisted opening just means that once you start opening the blade with the thumbstud on the rear end portion of the blade that once it's opened up by about 1/5 then it flicks open the rest of the way on it's own from spring tension. Because it requires manual pressure without the use of a button it's NOT considered a switchblade in most States (check your State and Local laws just to be sure though).

Good luck, think about the possibilty of buying and carrying a gun though.

It really does give you alot better chance of survival if you are the victim of a violent assault than a knife does.

Glocks and Revolvers are good choices for CHL use too, but Kahr's have....

A smaller grip due to having a single stack mag which means that it fits the hand of most women better.

They weigh less than either one of those two (the Kahr PM is 15.9 ounces w/a mag/the Glock 26 is 19.75 ounces/the Ruger SP101 is 25.5 to 27 ounces depending on barrel length/which means that the person carrying it is more likely to actually have it on them when they leave the house instead of leaving it at home because it's too bulky and because it weighs too much).

It's also slimmer overall than either of those because it doesn't use a bulky cylinder or have a double stack mag.

It's the same basic barrel length of the Glock 26 (the Glock 26 has a barrel length of 3.46 vs. 3 inches for the Kahr PM or 3.5 for the Kahr P9) which means that there won't be a huge loss of velocity, especially if lighter grain bullets are used.

There are a couple different reasons why women don't get CHL's besides the fact that it means a change in their whole lifestyle and world outlook and some of that deals with the fact that many don't like carrying something large in size and that weighs alot, especially when it's unfamiliar to them to begin with.

Like it or not, Kahrs have an advantage over both of those above. Some women don't mind the slightly larger size of the Glock though, but it usually seems like many of those women don't end up carrying them around much.

Columbia River Knife and Tool makes and excellent selection of tactical folders. www.crkt.com . Pepper spray works well, so do stun guns. I think you are allready exercising your best defense, awareness and vigilance. Honestly a nice swift kick to the groin and running your ass off is a much better choice than employing a weapon and engaging in an altercation. Knife, gun, pepperspray, or what have you are virtually useless against a group of attackers unless you have been trained to contain the specific threat. Any weapon you use, unless HIGHLY trained, can be used against you. Fighting should be your last option. Put ego aside, seriously. I'm well over 6 feet tall 210 pounds and about 11 percent body fat trained for 20 years in several different fighting systems. Myself and my family don't have to be afraid in nearly any situation because along with my physical training, I have spent countless hours studying de-escalation. That is the best defense.

Using a knife in self defense is an art.. you must be trained to be effective with one, and not be disarmed, and you must constantly practice to be effective with a blade

A better choice for you would be pepper spray

I would however advise you relocate, immediately. There ARE safer places to live, you know, and the collapse of this system is imminent. At the fall the savages all around you will destroy, rape, murder everything nearby, and the only hope any of us have is to be in majority white, heavily armed areas and preferably in organized white nationalist groups